Disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, frequently utilize one or both of two types of leg cuffs, gasket leg cuffs and barrier leg cuffs. Gasket leg cuffs are used to seal the leg openings of the article about the wearer and to help prevent the leakage of body exudates from the article at the leg openings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003 issued to Buell on Jan. 14, 1975, teaches a diaper having an elastically contractible side portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,782 issued to Pieniak on Jun. 8, 1982 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,026 issued to Pieniak et al. on May 22, 1984 teach diapers having an elastic film ribbon incorporated into the marginal edges of the diapers.
Barrier leg cuffs are utilized to provide improved containment of body exudates within the disposable absorbent article. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,115 issued to Buell on Nov. 3, 1987 teaches a disposable garment having side edge leakage guard gutters which obviate inversion and then folding during use by not encircling the thighs of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,178 issued to Aziz et al. on Feb. 28, 1989 teaches a disposable article having leakage resistant flaps which are nonabsorbent and liquid-impermeable.
Other variations of barrier cuffs have been proposed, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,452 issued to Blaney et al. on Jan. 3, 1989. This reference teaches a disposable article having a cuff member with a cantilevered flap which provides a liquid-impermeable seal, a barrier wall which retards the flow of exudates and gasketing action about the legs of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,454 issued to Dragoo on Jan. 3, 1989 teaches a disposable absorbent article having a barrier cuff with a distal edge and a proximal edge, with spacing means disposed at the distal edge and a seal formed at the proximal edge.
In order to improve the performance of barrier leg cuffs, complex methods and equipment have been used in order to apply elastic members in a curved manner to the disposable absorbent article in order to better fit around the legs of the wearer. However, the methods and the equipment used to apply the elastic members in a curved manner are both complex and costly. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for attaching barrier leg cuffs to absorbent articles in a curved manner.